


i never knew anybody (til i knew you)

by closingdoors



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: F/F, Ficlet, I love one (1) comedy duo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-10-10 21:10:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17433563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/closingdoors/pseuds/closingdoors
Summary: "Get a smile on that face, lady. How else are you gonna get a bargain?”“That’s what I’ve brought you along for, innit?” Charity replies, tugging at Chas’s shirt. “Wouldn’t have killed you to wear something low-cut.”Takes place during January 15th’s ep. Charity and Chas go shopping for Vanessa’s ring.





	i never knew anybody (til i knew you)

**Author's Note:**

> Charity and Chas really are the comedy duo we deserve. This is just a little something I wish we'd seen in the actual ep. Title taken from Born To Be Yours by Imagine Dragons.

 

“She won’t break, you know.”

Chas is watching her check her phone for the fifth time since they’d left home. Charity rolls her eyes, shoving her phone in her pocket. Vanessa had promised, after all, that she would call if anything happened. 

Last time she’d left her, Vanessa had been bleeding out from a broken bottle-shaped wound.

Charity winces against the thought. Chas links their arms, tugging her towards the jewellers. 

“Now, get a smile on that face, lady. How else are you gonna get a bargain?”

“That’s what I’ve brought you along for, innit?” Charity replies, tugging at Chas’s shirt. “Wouldn’t have killed you to wear something low-cut.”

The jewellers they step into is swish. Tall glass walls and white minimal decoration. She feels out of place immediately. But she knows the drill. Knows how to talk the talk and walk the walk. She’s conned far fancier places - at least she’s being genuine with a purchase, this time. 

Chas leads her over to the rings, cooing softly as the diamonds glitter in the light. Her arm slips from Charity’s and palms press against the glass. Charity rubs her hands together nervously, a little overwhelmed with how many options there are. Somewhat stupidly - and she blames Vanessa for making her soft - she thought she’d walk in and just  _know._ That there’d be one standing out among the others, something that would scream Vanessa.

“Can I help?”

The attendant’s smile is blindingly bright. Charity fumbles for her words.

“Uh. I’m looking to buy a ring.”

It’s a stupid thing to say, but the attendant just nods, taking it in her stride.  _Probably had tons of nervous, sweaty blokes in here,_ Charity thinks.  _Half of 'em my own ex-husbands._

“What kind are you looking for?” The attendant asks. She gestures to the glass case between them. “We have something special for every occasion.”

“I’m planning to propose. To my girlfriend.”

Chas grins at Charity’s words. There’s a flicker of something in the attendant’s eyes. Instinctively, Charity quirks an eyebrow, tensing her jaw.

“That a problem, is it?” She demands.

The attendant - whose nametag reads  _Eva_ \- shakes her head, the edges of her lips turning up into a smaller, more genuine smile than before.

“Definitely not a problem,” she returns, like they're sharing a secret. She switches back to sales mode so quickly Charity almost gets whiplash. “Do you have a style in mind? A specific stone?”

“There’re different stones now?” Charity almost whines.

Chas digs her elbow into her side, but Eva laughs softly. 

“Well, what sort of jewellery does she usually wear?”

“She’s a vet. She can’t.”

“Something simple, then?”

Butterflies swarm in her throat. 

“Yeah. But still pretty, you know? Can’t be caught skimping out,” she says, even as Chas rolls her eyes.

Eva pulls three rings out from the display, settling them on the counter between them. Charity instantly wrinkles her nose at one that has an emerald embedded in it. Vanessa’s not fifty. Yet.

That leaves her with two options. One has a small stone, but the band twists, infinity-style. She lifts the box, considering it. Chas is watching over her shoulder so closely she can practically feel her breath on her cheek. Charity nudges her off.

“Oi! You said you needed my help.”

“Yeah, before you started acting like a dog with a bone,” Charity retorts. She shoves the box at Chas. “Put it on.”

“You what?”

“You gone deaf?” 

Chas slips the ring from its box and onto her ring finger. She grabs Chas’s hand, staring at the ring. The stone looks too small on her fingers. 

“What d’you think?”

“What I think is you’re proposing to Vanessa, not me. I hope.”

Charity narrows her eyes. Something about the ring just feels wrong. The band’s just too much. She tugs it off of her cousin’s finger, who startles, and places it back in the box.

Eva takes it, handing her the next option. Charity stares at it, something final niggling at her as she does. This is really happening. She’s really going to buy a ring and propose to Vanessa. If anyone had even suggested the notion this time last year, she would’ve laughed them out of the Dales.

The band is a simple silver. It dissects on one side, two thin lines joining the stone, which glitters with a blue hue under the light. A shade not too dissimilar from Vanessa’s eyes, she muses.

Chas sticks her hand out. Charity raises an eyebrow.

“I’m proposing to Vanessa, not you.”

“Oh, for the love of - “ Chas stops, glaring. The attendant titters. “I don’t know how she puts up with you half the time.”

“Trust me, babe, I’m still working that one out myself.”

Chas’s glare softens around the edges.

“What’re you thinking?” She asks, peering at the ring in the box. “It's pretty."

"Yeah," she agrees. "You think she'd like it?"

"Do  _you_?"

"I think she would, yeah."

Chas claps her hands together. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

The attendant takes the stone from her, taking her details, and the ring size. It all works so perfectly - a ring in that size ready to be bought today; the price not out of her range; Eva wishing her good luck - that her head starts to spin, waiting for the catch. There is none, and before she knows it she's leaving the jewellers with a ring and Chas walking along gleefully beside her. Those butterflies return, swarming through her until it feels like every nerve in her body is tingling with anticipation. She doesn't even know how she's going to propose, but she already just wants to do it. Right now. The fact that Vanessa deserves something beautiful is the only thing that stops her from going home and dropping on one knee as she reads those god-awful magazines.

"So, what next?" Chas asks. "Ask Frank for permission?"

Charity's jaw drops. "Are you  _mad_?" 

"Just yanking your chain, love," she returns easily. Her arm slips through Charity's again. "Although, that would be  _quite_ the sight to see."

"Yeah, well, she's a grown woman. She can make her own decisions." Charity gnaws at her lower lip. "You reckon she'll say yes?"

She regrets the words once she says them. Even revealing her insecurities to Vanessa, who is far more sympathetic and comforting than she deserves, is hard sometimes. 

Chas stops them on the side of the street. People mill around them, getting on with their everyday lives, but settled in a box inside a bag in her hand is a ring that could change her life. 

"God knows why, but Vanessa's head over sodding heels for you. You know that."

"For now. I always screw this stuff up."

"What stuff?"

"You know." Charity gestures vaguely. "Love."

"Not this time, you won't." 

"How do you know?"

"I just do." When Charity sighs, she squeezes her shoulder. "She'll say yes, Charity. And it's the only time I'll be pleased she can't move much, because I  _definitely_ don't need to hear the celebration sex." 

Charity purses her lips. "Who said _she_ had to do the moving for that?"

Chas groans, tipping her head back with defeat. Charity laughs, leading her back to the car, already mulling over proposal ideas. It should terrify her. And it does. But the fear is very small compared to the happiness that leaks through every inch of her nowadays. Vanessa makes it difficult for her to ever really feel afraid anymore.


End file.
